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Marcian indirectly saved Rome from Attila the Hun. In 452, Attila captured and ransacked Aquileia, Milan, and other cities in Northern Italy. It seemed Attila would soon attack Rome itself, whose walls were weaker than some cities Attila had already captured. Meanwhile, however, Marcian's Eastern Roman forces had taken the offensive across the Danube, attacking the breadbasket of the Hunnic Empire. The loss of food supply from Attila's own land, and a famine and plague in Italy, depleted Attila's forces, allowing the Western Roman Empire to bribe him into returning to his homeland. Back home, Attila threatened to invade the Eastern Empire and enslave the entirety of it. Marcian and Aspar ignored his threats. The Eastern Empire had already paid Attila about six tons of gold, yet he still threatened them. They reasoned that gold would be better spent building up armies. Attila's attack never came, as he died unexpectedly in 453, either from hemorrhaging or alcoholic suffocation, after celebrating a marriage to one of his many wives. Attila's tribal confederation empire fell apart within a year after his death. Marcian settled numerous tribes, formerly under Attila, within Eastern Roman lands as foederati (subject tribes which gave military service in exchange for various benefits).

Marcian indirectly saved Rome from Attila the Hun. In 452, Attila captured and ransacked Aquileia, Milan, and other cities in Northern Italy. It seemed Attila would soon attack Rome itself, whose walls were weaker than some cities Attila had already captured. Meanwhile, however, Marcian's Eastern Roman forces had taken the offensive across the Danube, attacking the breadbasket of the Hunnic Empire. The loss of food supply from Attila's own land, and a famine and plague in Italy, depleted Attila's forces, allowing the Western Roman Empire to bribe him into returning to his homeland. Back home, Attila threatened to invade the Eastern Empire and enslave the entirety of it. Marcian and Aspar ignored his threats. The Eastern Empire had already paid Attila about six tons of gold, yet he still threatened them. They reasoned that gold would be better spent building up armies. Attila's attack never came, as he died unexpectedly in 453, either from hemorrhaging or alcoholic suffocation, after celebrating a marriage to one of his many wives. Attila's tribal confederation empire fell apart within a year after his death. Marcian settled numerous tribes, formerly under Attila, within Eastern Roman lands as foederati (subject tribes which gave military service in exchange for various benefits).

The Column of Marcian was dedicated to Marcian, built by the praefectus urbi Tatianus, sometime between 450 and 452. It still stands in modern Istanbul, though the statue of Marcian which originally topped it has been lost. Marcian also had a statue in the Forum of Arcadius, which contained the statues of several of Arcadius' successors.

At the beginning of Marcian's reign, the Eastern Roman treasury was almost bankrupt, due to the huge tributes paid to Attila by Theodosius. Marcian reversed this near bankruptcy not by levying new taxes, but rather by cutting expenditures. Upon his accession, he declared a remission of all debts owed to the state. Marcian attempted to improve the efficiency of the state in multiple ways, such as mandating that the praetorship must be given to senators residing in Constantinople, attempted to curb the practice of selling administrative offices, and decreed that consuls would be responsible for the maintenance of Constantinople's aqueducts. He repealed the Follis, a tax on senators' property which amounted to seven pounds of gold per year. Marcian removed the financial responsibilities of the consuls and praetors, who had since the time of the Roman Republic been responsible for funding the public sports games or giving wealth to the citizens of Constantinople, respectively; additionally, he made it such that only the Vir illustris could hold either office. By the time of his death, Marcian's shrewd cutting of expenditures and avoidance of large-scale wars left the Eastern Roman treasury with a surplus of 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of gold.RL87909. Bronze half centenionalis, RIC XMarcian 561 (R), LRBC II 2609, SRCV V 21398, Hahn MIB 33, DOCLR -, Hunter V -, VF, tight flan, obverse off center, edge crack, small pit on obverse, weight 1.354 g, maximum diameter 10.8 mm, die axis 0o, Cyzicus (Kapu Dagh, Turkey) mint, 453 - 457 A.D.; obverse D N MARCINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassedbust right; reverse Marcian's monogram (RIC monogram 1) , in wreath, CVZ in exergue; ex Beast Coins; rare; $95.00 SALE PRICE $85.50

Leo I, 7 February 457 - 18 January 474 A.D.

Leo I (Latin: Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus; 401 Ė 18 January 474) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of DaciaAureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian. Ruling the for nearly 20 years, Leo proved to be a capable ruler. He oversaw many ambitious political and military plans, aimed mostly at aiding the faltering Western Roman Empire and recovering its former territories. He is notable for being the first Eastern Emperor to legislate in Greek rather than Latin. He is commemorated as a Saint in the Orthodox Church, with his feast day on January 20.RL87910. Bronze half centenionalis, RIC X 693 (R), LRBC II 2264, DOCLR 565, cf. SRCV 21441 ff., Hunter V -, VF, tight flan, crude, weight 0.580 g, maximum diameter 8.5 mm, die axis 0o, uncertain mint, c. 462 - 472 A.D.; obverse D N LEO P F AVG (or similar, all off flan or unstruck), pearl-diademed, draped [and cuirassed?] bust right; reverse Leo's Latin monogram within wreath, mintmark in exergue (off flan); ex Beast Coins; rare; $95.00 SALE PRICE $85.50

Marcian, 24 August 450 - 31 January 457 A.D.

Marcian laid out many legal reforms in his five novels, or codes of law, many of which were targeted at reducing the corruption and abuses of office that existed during the reign of Theodosius. Marcian decreed that anyone who performed pagan rites would lose their property and be condemned to death, and that no pagan temples, which had previously been closed, could be re-opened. He repealed a marriage law enacted by Constantine I, which decreed that a man of senatorial status could not marry a slave, freedwoman, actress, or woman of no social status (humilis), in an attempt to preserve the purity of the senatorial class. Marcian adjusted this law by declaring that the law should not exclude a woman of good character, regardless of her social status or wealth. He banned the export of weapons, and tools used to manufacture them, to barbarian tribes. In order to ensure his laws were implemented, he set a penalty of 50 pounds (23 kg) of gold for any judge, governor, or official who did not enforce the law.RL87911. Bronze half centenionalis, RIC XMarcian 561 (R), LRBC II 2609, SRCV V 21398, Hahn MIB 33, DOCLR -, Hunter V -, VF, typical tight flan, earthen deposits, light marks, weight 1.192 g, maximum diameter 11.0 mm, die axis 0o, Cyzicus (Kapu Dagh, Turkey) mint, 453 - 457 A.D.; obverse D N MARCINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassedbust right; reverse Marcian's monogram (RIC monogram 1) , in wreath, CVZ in exergue; better in hand than the photos suggest, ex Beast Coins; rare; $95.00 SALE PRICE $85.50

Gratian, 24 August 367 - 25 August 383 A.D.

Gratian was Roman emperor from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied, during his youth, his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers. In 378, Gratian's generals won a decisive victory over the Lentienses, a branch of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, the last emperor to do so, and attacked the Lentienses, forcing the tribe to surrender. That same year, his uncle Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople against the Goths Ė making Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured Christianity over traditional Roman religion, refusing the divine attributes of the Emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate.RL87982. Bronze maiorina, Hunter V 25 (also 3rd officina), RIC IXArelate 20(a)3, LRBC II 548, SRCV V 20005, Cohen VIII 30, VF, dark patina with buff earthen highlighting, light marks and scratches, tiny edge splits, weight 4.911 g, maximum diameter 24.3 mm, die axis 180o, 3rd officina, Constantina-Arelatum (Arles, France) mint, c. 379 - 25 August 383 A.D.; obverse D N GRATIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassedbust right; reverse REPARATIO REIPVB, emperor standing facing, head left, right hand raising kneeling turreted woman, Victory on globe offering wreath in his left hand, TCON in exergue; ex HarlanBerk 2002; $80.00 SALE PRICE $72.00

Valentinian II, 17 November 375 - 15 May 392 A.D.

The ruins of Antioch on the Orontes lie near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey. Founded near the end of the 4th century B.C. by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch's geographic, military and economic location, particularly the spice trade, the Silk Road, the Persian Royal Road, benefited its occupants, and eventually it rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East and as the main center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. Antioch is called "the cradle of Christianity," for the pivotal early role it played in the emergence of the faith. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis. Its residents are known as Antiochenes. Once a great metropolis of half a million people, it declined to insignificance during the Middle Ages because of warfare, repeated earthquakes and a change in trade routes following the Mongol conquests, which then no longer passed through Antioch from the far east.